Bali Hai has guarded the tip of Shelter Island since 1955, its rooftop tiki figure facing the bay as one of the last classic Polynesian supper clubs still standing in the United States.
Who would love it: anyone who wants a real mid-century tiki room with a bay view and a Mai Tai with a reputation. Who would skip it: drinkers after a modern craft-cocktail den, because the draw here is preserved history and a famously potent house pour, not a rotating seasonal list.
The address is 2230 Shelter Island Drive, at the far end of the island in Point Loma, with the dining room facing back across San Diego Bay toward the downtown skyline. It is a short drive from the airport and the Liberty Station area, and parking on site is easier than almost anywhere downtown. The location is the reason the view holds across the whole room.
The room
The dining room and bar look out over San Diego Bay toward downtown, and the carved Polynesian decor is original rather than retrofitted. The Mr. Bali Hai tiki that watches the door has become a Shelter Island landmark in its own right. It reads as a supper club first, with the bar woven through it.
The restaurant opened on Shelter Island in the mid-1950s, at the height of the American tiki era, and unlike most of its contemporaries it never closed or converted. Tiki historians treat it as a primary source rather than a revival, since the building, the menu, and the rooftop figure have been preserved rather than rebuilt. The Bali Hai Mai Tai is part of that record, a recipe the bar has guarded for decades and one that staff still serve with a word about its strength.
What to order
Order the Bali Hai Mai Tai, the house drink that built the reputation and that staff have long served with a caution about its strength. The Goof, a rum punch, is the other signature, and the tiki list runs deep for a room this old. Expect supper-club pricing in the mid-teens and up per cocktail.
The crowd and vibe
Sunday brunch is the local institution, served from 9:30am with the same bay view. Evenings draw a mix of tiki pilgrims, anniversary tables, and tourists working through the Mai Tai. The room is busiest at sunset, when the western light comes off the water.
Best time to go
Sunday brunch is the local ritual, served from 9:30am with the bay in full view, and it books up fastest. For the bar and the Mai Tai, sunset is the window, when the western light comes off the water and the room is at its best. Weeknights are calmer than weekends, when the dining room turns over steadily from dinner.
What regulars say
- Visitors consistently single out the Mai Tai as stronger than expected, a point of pride for the bar.
- The bay view and the rooftop tiki are named as the reasons to make the trip to Shelter Island.
- Sunday brunch draws repeat praise as the way locals use the room.
Who it is for
- A classic tiki pilgrimage
- An anniversary table with a bay view
- A strong Mai Tai at sunset
For drinkers building a San Diego tiki itinerary, Bali Hai is the historic anchor, the room that predates the current revival rather than borrowing from it. Pair the visit with a walk along the Shelter Island shoreline, which sits steps from the door and frames the same bay view the dining room trades on.
See where it sits among the tiki bars in San Diego, browse more bars in San Diego, or compare it across our best tiki bars guide.
Sources: Bali Hai official site (2026); Yelp San Diego (n=3,080, June 2026); Tiki Central; OpenTable; AAA TripCanvas.
